Avinash Kori is a Ph.D. researcher at Imperial College London affiliated with the Safe and Trusted AI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT). Supervised by Prof. Francesca Toni and Prof. Ben Glocker , his research focuses on Explainable AI (XAI) , causality , and deep learning with applications in medical image analysis and optimization algorithms . His work includes publications on arXiv and conferences like MICCAI , covering topics such as robust segmentation , concept-based explanations , and symbolic reasoning in hyperbolic space . He has also explored stochastic optimization , support vector machines (SVM) , and gradient descent variants , providing theoretical and practical implementations. Recent trends in his publications highlight advancements in robust CNN models , causal logic frameworks , and hyperbolic geometry for hierarchical learning . His research is driven by the need to make AI systems more transparent and reliable for critical domains like healthcare. Scientific Awards: AAAIw Overall Best Paper Award (Feb 2021) for CNN interpretability research. He actively contributes to open-source implementations via platforms like GitHub and shares insights through blogs and paper reviews . His academic journey includes an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering Design with a minor in Machine Learning from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras , followed by research internships at Siemens and Stanford University .
Desmond Elliott is an Associate Professor and Villum Young Investigator at the Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on vision-language models, multilingual and multimodal processing, with particular emphasis on tokenization-free language modeling approaches. He leads a research group actively working on pixel language models and cross-lingual multimodal understanding. University of Copenhagen, Department of Computer Science Villum Young Investigator Associate Editor for JAIR (2025-2028) Senior Area Chair for ACL 2025 Elliott's research spans vision-language integration, multilingual NLP, and multimodal machine learning. His work explores how language models can operate directly on visual pixels without traditional tokenization, enabling more seamless integration of vision and language processing. He investigates compositional generalization in multimodal systems, retrieval-augmented image captioning, and cross-lingual transfer in vision-language tasks. His group develops methods for low-resource language processing and creates benchmarks for evaluating multimodal systems across diverse cultural contexts. His recent publications demonstrate strong trends in pixel-based language modeling, synthetic dataset generation through retrieval augmentation, and multilingual vision-language processing. The work spans theoretical advances in model architectures and practical applications in areas like medical text analysis, food culture understanding, and social media content moderation. His research often bridges computer vision and natural language processing with a focus on making these technologies accessible across diverse languages and cultures. Best Paper Honorable Mention at CVPR Visual Concepts Workshop 2025 Best Long Paper Award at EMNLP 2021 Area Chair Favourite paper at COLING 2018 Elliott actively supervises student projects in BSc and MSc programs related to his research interests. His research has received substantial funding from Google (2024-2025), Facebook (2022-2024), Villum Foundation (2021-2026), Novo Nordisk Foundation (2019-2024), and European Union (2023-2026). He regularly recruits postdocs for projects including the Danish Foundation Models project and the Responsible AI for the People Project. His group holds regular meetings on Tuesdays from 13:00-14:00 in IF G.03, with an active mailing list for announcements. The research environment appears collaborative, with frequent co-authorship across institutions and regular participation in major NLP and computer vision conferences.
Ulrik Brandes serves as Full Professor and Head of the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences at ETH Zurich, holding the Professorship for Social Networks. He actively teaches courses including Network Analysis and Applied Network Science: Sports Networks for Fall semester 2025, with office location at WEP J 14, Weinbergstr. 109, Zurich. His research spans Social Network Analysis, Graph Theory, and Network Science, with significant applications in sociology, sports analytics (particularly soccer and Australian Football League), and archaeological networks. As a longstanding member of the International Network for Social Network Analysis (since 2001) and the Academy of Sociology (since 2017), he bridges theoretical graph algorithms with practical interdisciplinary applications, recently expanding into sports analytics through the Football Scouting Association (2023). Analysis of his recent publications reveals strong thematic continuity in network centrality, temporal dynamics, and robustness, with increasing application diversity across sports analytics, archaeological trade networks, and decentralized social media platforms. His work consistently emphasizes efficient computational methods for real-world network problems. Honors: Simmel Award (2024) Prof. Brandes maintains active research leadership through departmental oversight and course development, though specific grant details and student advisement records are not publicly documented in available sources. His departmental role indicates substantial administrative responsibilities alongside research and teaching commitments.
Konrad Viebahn is a Researcher at ETH Zurich's Department of Physics, working within the Professorship for Quantum Optics. Based at HPF D 23, Otto-Stern-Weg 1, Zurich, he contributes to experimental quantum simulation research with contact via viebahnk@ethz.ch and +41 44 633 23 45. His research centers on quantum many-body systems in optical lattices, specializing in topological phenomena and Floquet engineering. Key interests include Thouless pumping in driven systems, quantum control of ultracold atoms, and mitigating heating in Floquet-Hubbard lattices. His work bridges theoretical concepts like topological phase transitions with experimental implementations using laser-cooled atomic gases. Analysis of his 2021-2025 publications reveals a consistent focus on engineering topological quantum behavior through periodic driving techniques. His group pioneers two-tone driving methods to manipulate band structures, enabling protected quantum gates and precise charge pumping. This research directly addresses challenges in quantum simulation scalability and error mitigation for future quantum technologies. As part of ETH Zurich's Quantum Optics group, Dr. Viebahn utilizes advanced optical lattice platforms to study strongly correlated quantum matter. The team's experimental setup involves precision laser systems for creating dynamical potentials, with recent work emphasizing the interplay between interactions and topology in non-equilibrium systems.
Kirsten Moselund is a Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Head of the Laboratory for Nano and Quantum Technologies (LNQ) at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) since 2022. She leads LNQ’s six research groups focused on nanotechnology and advanced nanomanufacturing quantum computing technologies with co-location of the ETHZ-PSI Quantum Computing Hub and affiliation to EPFL's Quantum Science and Engineering Center (QSE) . Her research spans semiconductor device physics and technology development, including III-V electronics nanophotonics topological devices cryogenic electronics with applications in quantum computing, optical communication, and integrated photonics. She received an ERC Starting Grant for hybrid photonic-plasmonic nanolasers. Recent publications focus on III-V photodetectors on silicon hybrid laser integration thermal management in nanocavities topological mode emission across Nature Communications , ACS Photonics , and Nature Electronics . Scientific awards include ERC Starting Grant and institutional roles such as Member of IHP Microelectronics Scientific Advisory Board Executive Board of Swiss Photonics Technical Program Committee member for IEDM conference At PSI, she oversees construction of the Park InnovAare cleanroom opening in 2024 and collaborates with international groups on theoretical foundations and simulations.
David Steurer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at ETH Zurich, where he leads the Institute for Theoretical Computer Science. His research bridges theoretical computer science, mathematics, and practical applications in machine learning and statistics. Steurer has made significant contributions to the understanding of sum-of-squares methods, semidefinite programming, and high-dimensional estimation problems. Steurer earned his B.Sc. & M.Sc. in Computer Science from Saarland University in 2006, followed by a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Princeton University in 2010 under the supervision of Sanjeev Arora. His doctoral dissertation, "On the Complexity of Unique Games and Graph Expansion," received an Honorable Mention for the ACM Doctoral Dissertation Award in 2011. Steurer's research focuses on algorithm design through mathematical programming relaxations, particularly semidefinite programming and the sum-of-squares method. His work addresses computational complexity of high-dimensional estimation problems including tensor decomposition, clustering, Gaussian mixture models, and stochastic block models. He also investigates algorithmic aspects of robustness and differential privacy, especially for estimation tasks. His theoretical contributions have practical implications for machine learning and data analysis in the presence of noise and adversarial conditions. Analysis of Steurer's recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory in advancing the sum-of-squares framework for high-dimensional estimation and robust statistics. His work demonstrates how sophisticated mathematical programming techniques can provide certifiable guarantees for challenging problems in machine learning. The research spans theoretical foundations while maintaining relevance to practical applications, particularly in scenarios involving corrupted or noisy data. A notable trend is the extension of sum-of-squares methods to handle increasingly complex statistical models while providing rigorous performance guarantees. ERC Consolidator Grant (2019) Michael and Sheila Held prize (2018, with Raghavendra) Invited speaker at International Congress of Mathematicians (2018) STOC Best Paper Award (2015) Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship (2014) NSF CAREER Award (2014) Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship (2014) FOCS Best Paper Award (2010) Steurer has advised numerous PhD students and postdocs who have gone on to prominent positions, including Sam Hopkins (now faculty at MIT), Jonathan Shi, and Aaron Potechin. His research is supported by multiple prestigious grants, including an ERC Consolidator Grant, an NSF CAREER Award, and a Microsoft Research Faculty Fellowship. He has served on numerous program committees for top theoretical computer science conferences and has been recognized for his service to the community through roles such as internal member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Institute for Theoretical Studies at ETH Zurich. As head of the Institute for Theoretical Computer Science at ETH Zurich, Steurer leads a research group focused on advancing the theoretical foundations of computer science with particular emphasis on mathematical optimization methods. His team explores the boundaries of what can be efficiently computed in high-dimensional settings, with applications spanning machine learning, statistics, and data science. The group maintains strong connections with both theoretical and applied researchers across ETH and the broader academic community.
Florent Krzakala is a Full Professor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, holding positions across multiple departments including the School of Basic Sciences (SB), School of Engineering (STI), and specifically within the Department of Physics (IPHYS) and Department of Electrical Engineering (IEM). He leads the Information, Learning and Physics Laboratory (IdePHICS) and maintains an office at ELD 239, Station 11, 1015 Lausanne. His research bridges statistical physics and computational disciplines, with significant contributions to understanding the theoretical foundations of machine learning and optimization problems. Dr. Krzakala received his MSc in Physics from Orsay, France in 1999, followed by a PhD in Statistical Physics from Orsay, Paris XI, France in 2002, and completed a postdoctoral position at Roma La Sapienza in 2004. This strong foundation in physics has informed his interdisciplinary approach to computational problems. His research interests span Statistical Physics, Machine Learning, Probability and Statistics, Computer Science, Information Theory, Inference on Graphs, Random Constraint Optimization, and Computational Optics. Krzakala's work focuses on applying methods from statistical physics to problems in theoretical computer science, probability, and machine learning. He investigates how concepts from disordered systems and phase transitions can illuminate computational barriers in optimization and inference tasks. His research has particular relevance for understanding the behavior of neural networks, compressed sensing, and high-dimensional statistical models. Analysis of his recent publications reveals a strong trend toward understanding the fundamental limits of learning in high-dimensional settings, with particular emphasis on phase transitions, statistical-to-computational gaps, and the theoretical properties of deep learning architectures. His work frequently bridges rigorous mathematical analysis with practical machine learning applications, demonstrating how insights from statistical physics can inform algorithm design and theoretical understanding in AI. Krzakala actively mentors the next generation of researchers, supervising numerous PhD students whose work continues to advance these interdisciplinary fields. His laboratory serves as a hub for researchers exploring the intersection of physics and computation, fostering collaborations across traditional disciplinary boundaries. He teaches advanced courses including Fundamentals of Inference and Learning, Statistical Physics, and Statistical Physics for Optimization & Learning, which examine the connections between physical principles and computational methods. His educational materials, including lecture notes on statistical physics methods in optimization and machine learning, have become valuable resources for students and researchers worldwide. As founder and scientific advisor of the startup Lighton, Krzakala has also demonstrated a commitment to translating theoretical insights into practical applications, particularly in the realm of optical computing for machine learning tasks.
Dr. David Cock is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Researcher at ETH Zürich's Department of Computer Science, affiliated with the Systems Group. He holds a PhD from UNSW (2014) and a B.Sc. (hons) from UNSW (2004). His research focuses on formal verification, trustworthy systems, and hardware-software co-design, with notable contributions to projects like Enzian (a CPU/FPGA platform) and seL4 (formally verified kernel). He teaches Advanced Operating Systems and Informal Methods courses. Key achievements include the ACM Software System Award (2022) for seL4 and leadership in projects addressing hardware complexity and security. Research interests include formal methods for hardware modeling (Sockeye project), runtime verification, and mitigating timing channels. His work bridges theoretical foundations with practical systems, emphasizing secure and reliable computing platforms. Projects like Trustworthy BMC aim to enhance baseboard management systems' assurance. Collaborations span academia and industry, with open-source contributions to hardware designs and formal tools. Publications span formal verification, hardware modeling, and secure systems, with recent focus on heterogeneous computing and declarative hardware specifications. Teaching emphasizes practical formal techniques and OS design, leveraging real-world hardware (e.g., Barrelfish). His lab, the Systems Group, explores cutting-edge challenges in systems software and architecture.
Prof. Jelena Klinovaja is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Basel, affiliated with the Philosophisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät. She holds leadership roles in research groups focusing on quantum theory of condensed matter, topological systems, and spin phenomena. Her career includes a PhD from the University of Basel (2012), a Harvard Fellowship (2013), and tenure as an assistant (2014) and associate professor (2019) before her current rank. She leads research on topological insulators, graphene, and Majorana fermions, with applications to topological quantum computing. Notable awards include the Swiss Physical Society Prize (2013) and an ERC Starting Grant (2017). Her work combines theoretical physics with experimental collaborations, particularly in nanowires and superconducting systems. She mentors students in the Honors Track program and contributes to interdisciplinary initiatives like NCCR SPIN. Education: Bachelor/Master from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (2007-2009); PhD in Theoretical Physics from University of Basel (2012). Research Interests: Topological effects in condensed matter, spintronics, quantum transport, Majorana fermions, and cavity quantum electrodynamics. Publications span over 50 peer-reviewed articles since 2012, focusing on topics like Josephson junctions, topological superconductivity, and hybrid systems. Her work bridges theoretical models with experimental realizations, emphasizing practical applications in quantum technologies. Awards: Swiss Physical Society Prize (2013), ERC Starting Grant (2017). Active in the scientific community, she collaborates with institutions worldwide and advises PhD students in quantum physics and nanoscience. Her research group also explores magnonic systems and topological materials engineering.
Benny Sudakov is a Professor of Mathematics at ETH Zurich, where he conducts research in combinatorics. He has previously held positions at UCLA, Princeton University, and the Institute for Advanced Study. His work is supported by the SNSF grant 200021_196965. Research Interests: His primary research areas include Extremal Graph and Hypergraph Theory, Ramsey Theory, Random Structures, and the application of Algebraic and Probabilistic Methods in Combinatorics, with strong connections to Theoretical Computer Science. He investigates fundamental structural properties of discrete systems, such as the existence of regular subgraphs, extremal configurations, and the behavior of random combinatorial objects. The recent popular science articles on his work highlight a consistent trend of solving long-standing open problems in extremal combinatorics using sophisticated probabilistic and algebraic techniques. His research spans topics like equiangular lines, graph decompositions, and the emergence of cycles in sparse graphs, demonstrating a deep focus on the interplay between structure and randomness. Scientific Awards: No specific awards are mentioned in the provided text. Advising and Grants: He has advised numerous Ph.D. students, many of whom have gone on to become professors at top universities (e.g., Oxford, Stanford, CMU, ETH, Princeton). His research is currently funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). He has organized workshops and seminars, such as the Theory of Combinatorial Algorithms Mittagsseminar at ETH and a workshop at UCLA on Extremal and Probabilistic Combinatorics. Labs and Teams: He is a key member of the combinatorics group at ETH Zurich and co-organizes the Theory of Combinatorial Algorithms Mittagsseminar, a central forum for research discussions in discrete mathematics at the institution.
Myrto Limnios is a Bernoulli Instructor at the Institute of Mathematics at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), holding dual appointments as Lecturer in the School of Basic Sciences - Mathematics Section and Scientist in the Mathematics Department - Geometry section. Her office is located at CM 1 618 (Centre Midi), Station 10, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Dr. Limnios's academic journey began with her PhD at Centre Borelli, ENS Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, under the supervision of Prof. Nicolas Vayatis and Ioannis Bargiotas. Her doctoral thesis, Rank Processes and Statistical Applications in High Dimension , established her expertise in statistical methodology. Following her PhD, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Copenhagen Causality Lab of the University of Copenhagen. Her research program focuses on nonparametric statistics, statistical learning theory, and stochastic processes with biomedical applications. She specializes in causal learning methods for event processes using conditional local independence testing (collaborating with Niels Richard Hansen) and concentration results for k-sample Rank and U-processes (with Prof. Stephan Clémençon of Télécom Paris). Her work bridges theoretical advances with practical implementations in epidemiology, neuroscience, and medical diagnostics. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trend toward developing ranking-based statistical methods with applications to anomaly detection, two-sample testing, and causal inference. Her work demonstrates increasing sophistication in handling high-dimensional event processes while maintaining theoretical rigor in statistical guarantees. Among her notable achievements is the Bernoulli Instructorship at EPFL and organizing the Women in Mathematics conference at EPFL in May 2025, which hosted over 60 participants from Switzerland, France, and Spain. She was also honored with a research visit to the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley in November 2024, hosted by Prof. Peter Bartlett. Dr. Limnios teaches advanced statistical methods at EPFL, including Regression Methods (covering linear regression, analysis of variance, diagnostics, and variable selection) and Empirical Processes (focusing on controlling nonasymptotic behavior of estimator collections). Her GitHub activity shows active development of statistical software for independence testing and anomaly ranking. She maintains active collaborations with the Copenhagen Causality Lab, Télécom Paris, and biomedical research groups, particularly through her work on postural control analysis for Parkinsonian syndromes and epidemiological modeling of infectious diseases.
Sai Praneeth Karimireddy is an Assistant Professor in the Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science at the University of Southern California (USC), with a courtesy appointment in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He previously held an SNSF postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley under Michael I. Jordan and earned his PhD at EPFL advised by Martin Jaggi. He co-leads the Federated Learning and Data Quality working group at MONAI (NVIDIA) and collaborates with researchers at Apple Research. His research lies at the intersection of optimization, machine learning, statistics, and economics, with a strong focus on federated learning, privacy-preserving machine learning, data valuation, and AI for healthcare. He investigates how data quality, privacy, and incentives shape collaborative ML systems, especially in high-stakes domains like medicine. His work has been deployed at companies such as Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Owkin. His recent publications span top-tier venues including NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, and JMLR, with influential contributions such as the SCAFFOLD algorithm for federated learning. His research shows a consistent trend toward building robust, private, and incentive-compatible collaborative learning systems, with increasing emphasis on real-world deployment in healthcare and decentralized data markets. 2023 SNSF Mobility Fellowship 2022 Patrick Denantes Memorial Prize for best thesis in computer science 2022 EPFL thesis distinction (top 8%) 2021 Chorafas Foundation Prize for exceptional applied research Capitol One Fellow (2025) He is actively mentoring PhD students and leads a research group focused on foundational and applied challenges in federated and privacy-preserving ML. He teaches graduate courses at USC, including CSCI 599 on Optimization for Machine Learning and CSCI 699 on Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning. He serves as an area chair for ICLR 2025 and co-organizes major workshops on incentives in data sharing and federated learning. His lab collaborates with institutions like NVIDIA, Apple, and Argonne National Laboratory, and he is building a research program centered on sustainable, equitable, and trustworthy AI ecosystems.
Christoph Hertrich is a tenure-track professor for Applied Discrete Mathematics at University of Technology Nuremberg, where he conducts research at the intersection of discrete mathematics, theoretical computer science, and machine learning. His work particularly focuses on applying polyhedral geometry and combinatorial optimization techniques to neural network theory, with significant contributions to understanding the computational complexity and expressivity of neural networks. Hertrich received his BSc and MSc degrees from TU Kaiserslautern (2013-2018) working with Sven O. Krumke, followed by his PhD at TU Berlin (2018-2022) under the supervision of Martin Skutella. His doctoral thesis, titled "Facets of Neural Network Complexity," laid foundational work for his current research direction. Prior to joining UTN, he held postdoctoral positions at Université libre de Bruxelles (2023-2024) with a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship under Samuel Fiorini, and at LSE London (2022-2023) with László Végh. He also served as a substitute professor for discrete mathematics at Goethe-Universität Frankfurt during the winter semester of 2023/24. Hertrich's research interests center on the mathematical foundations of neural networks, with particular emphasis on polyhedral geometry approaches. His work explores computational complexity questions related to neural network training and architecture, expressivity bounds, and connections to combinatorial optimization problems. He has made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between neural network depth and function representation, the complexity of counting linear regions in ReLU networks, and the application of extended formulations to neural network theory. His approach combines rigorous theoretical analysis with practical implications for neural network design and optimization. His recent publication record reveals a strong trend toward establishing fundamental theoretical limits and connections between deep learning and discrete mathematics. A significant portion of his work examines computational complexity of various neural network problems, often proving hardness results or establishing bounds on expressivity. He has also developed novel connections between polyhedral combinatorics and neural network architecture, demonstrating how techniques from operations research can inform deep learning theory. Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship Since February 2025, Hertrich has been supervising PhD student Moritz Stargalla at UTN. His research has been supported by prestigious fellowships including a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship during his postdoctoral period in Brussels. He is organizing a workshop on "Polyhedral Geometry for Neural Networks" in March 2026 in Nuremberg, highlighting his leadership in this emerging interdisciplinary field.
Saqib Javed is a doctoral researcher and Researcher at the Computer Vision Laboratory (CVLab) at EPFL, supervised by Prof. Pascal Fua and Dr. Mathieu Salzmann. His research focuses on energy-efficient deep networks, 3D reconstruction, quantization-aware training, and domain generalization. He holds a master’s degree from TU Munich and ETH Zurich. He is affiliated with the School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC) and the Department of Computer Science at EPFL. His current projects include compressed Gaussian splatting for dynamic scenes, quantized diffusion models, and reducing inference time for vision-language models. He has been awarded the EPFL IC Distinguished Service Award and is a Global Leaders PhD Fellow. His work spans theoretical research and practical applications in low-power device optimization. Teaching roles include serving as a Teaching Assistant for courses like Introduction to Machine Learning (CS-233) and Probability and Statistics (MATH-232). He has supervised multiple students, including Chengkun Li and Ahmad Jarrar Khan, on projects related to quantization and 3D pose estimation. His research also involves collaborations with industry partners like BMW, Siemens, and Intel, focusing on hardware-friendly neural networks. Awards include the EPFL IC Distinguished Service Award (2024) and recognition for his contributions to efficient deep learning. His recent publications address domain generalization, Gaussian splatting, and modular quantization techniques, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to advancing machine learning efficiency and applicability.
Georgia Fragkouli is a Researcher affiliated with ETH Zürich's School of Computer and Communication Sciences, working within the Institute of Computer Engineering and Communication Systems. Her role is part of the Professorship for Networked Systems, focusing on advanced networking and distributed systems research. She specializes in analyzing network performance, security, and transparency, with a particular emphasis on BGP convergence dynamics, anomaly detection, and decentralized computing architectures. Her research interests include network protocol validation, machine learning-based traffic analysis, and improving internet transparency through innovative measurement frameworks. She has contributed to projects like MorphIT for packet-level transparency and explored failure mitigation in globally distributed systems. Notable recent work includes studies on transient forwarding anomalies, iBGP convergence effects, and data-plane performance consistency. Her publications span both theoretical advancements and practical implementations, aiming to bridge gaps between networking theory and real-world deployment challenges.
